About

Mission  

The New York City Board of Standards and Appeals (“BSA”) is an independent, expert Board created to decide certain zoning and land use disputes. This mission helps to protect the constitutional rights of property owners and the public, which encourages governments to provide a neutral decisionmaker to decide cases involving properties that are uniquely and unfairly restricted by zoning and land use laws or the decisions of land use enforcement agencies, such as the Department of Buildings (“DOB”) and the Fire Department (“FDNY”).  Specifically, the Board serves property owners, government entities, and the public by reviewing and deciding whether to approve (1) applications for variances and special permits to modify zoning rules related to use, bulk, parking, and other land use matters; (2) appeals of NYC Department of Buildings (“DOB”) and Fire Department (“FDNY”) decisions; and (3) requests for modifications or extensions of prior Board approvals.   

Composition and Expertise  

The Board consists of five commissioners, including a Chair and a Vice-Chair. The City Charter also requires the commissioners to be experienced experts in the field: there must be a registered architect, a licensed professional engineer, and a professional city planner, each with at least ten years of experience. BSA’s staff is led by the Executive Director and includes project management, environmental review, administrative, and legal staff.   

The Board’s expertise is recognized by the courts, which apply deference to the Board’s decisions. As stated by the New York State Court of Appeals in the seminal case Toys R Us v. Silva, the Board “is comprised of five experts in land use and planning [and] is the ultimate administrative authority charged with enforcing the Zoning Resolution. Consequently, in questions relating to its expertise, the BSA’s interpretation of the statute’s terms must be given great weight and judicial deference.” 89 N.Y.2d 411, 418 (1996).   

Authority 

» Variances and Special Permits. To carry out its mission, the Board, with guidance and assistance from staff, has the power to review and decide applications on the Board’s Zoning Calendar (“BZ Calendar”) for variances and special permits that modify certain zoning and land use rules for properties that suffer from uniquely challenging conditions (called “hardship”) and/or satisfy other legal requirements or prerequisites (called “findings”). Variances, in particular, are approvals of modifications to any provision of the Zoning Resolution, which may be granted only if the Board finds that the “five findings” of Zoning Resolution (“Z.R.”) § 72-21, including hardship, are met. Special permits, in contrast, only modify specific provisions of the Zoning Resolution and have specific findings depending on the text and purpose of the particular special permit. There are various special permits for different purposes, including use, bulk, parking, and other zoning matters.   

 » Appeals. The Board also has the authority to decide appeals of most types of DOB and FDNY decisions on its “Appeals Calendar,” which the Board refers to as interpretive appeals. Other cases that the Board decides on its Appeals Calendar include NYC Building Code Appendix G variances to modify flood regulations for properties that meet various, stringent findings; modifications to certain New York State land use laws, including certain light-and-air requirements of the Multiple Dwelling Law and rules related to the location of properties in relation to mapped street under the General City Law. On the Appeals Calendar, the Board also considers common law (i.e., judge-made law) vested rights applications to continue construction under prior zoning rules where such rules have been modified, superseded, or eliminated by an amendment to the Zoning Resolution. Note that the Board also decides certain vested rights cases as authorized by specific provisions of the Zoning Resolution—these are called statutory vested rights cases, which the Board hears on its “BZY Calendar.”  

 » Modifications & staff-level requests. For properties that are already under the Board’s jurisdiction, the Board reviews and decides applications for modifications of past approvals, including applications for amendments, extensions of term, extensions of time to complete construction and/or obtain a certificate of occupancy, and other actions. Modifications of cases that originally received a variance or special permit are filed on the Special Order Calendar (“SOC”), while modifications of cases that were granted on the Appeals Calendar are filed on the Appeals Calendar. The Board’s staff, with consultation of the Chair and Vice-Chair, also decides staff-level requests for approval of minor modifications to prior grants. These staff-level approvals include letters of substantial compliance (“LSC”), letters of no objection (“LNO”), and pre-filing informational meetings, all of which must be held in accordance with the requirements of the Board’s Rules of Practice and Procedures (“the Board’s Rules”). 

Other Duties 

In considering applications, the Board is also required to hold public hearings in accordance with the Board’s Rules and the Open Meetings Law, require notice to be sent to affected members of the public and governmental officials, and review environmental impacts as required by both New York State and New York City law. After the Board has voted to close a case and decided whether to grant, deny, or dismiss the application, the results of the Board’s decisions are issued in written resolutions. Decisions on staff level requests are provided by the appropriate letter or by direct communication, such as a phone call or an email. Other duties of the Board and its staff include intake of application materials and payment processing, answering inquiries about the Board and other relevant zoning and land use issues, publishing the Board’s annual Bulletin, updating the Board’s website, responding to NY Freedom of Information Law (“FOIL”) and other records requests, and working with other government entities on initiatives to improve BSA’s operations and other intergovernmental projects.  

Interagency MOUs

Local Law 40 of 2011 requires agencies to post certain memoranda of understanding and similar agreements (MOUs) entered into among governmental agencies. The Board has not identified any covered MOUs or similar agreements.